With shaky fingers, I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. “Yes.”
She didn’t back away from me, didn’t run screaming, but confusion rippled over her features.
“How hard did you bump your head?”
“I’ll show you.” Concentrating hard, I lifted my unsteady hands and willed my nails to turn into claws. Nothing happened. I tried again. Still nothing. I tucked both my hands underneath my thighs. “I used to be able to change at will, but being away—”
“Oh, sweetheart…”
“Evelyn, please. I’m telling you the truth.”
She shot me a look filled with such pain and sympathy that I grabbed the phone from my tunic pocket and dialed Everest.
After a couple rings, his sleepy voice came on. “Hello?”
“Come to the kitchen now,” I said.
“Ness, it’s not even six.”
“Please.”
He grumbled. “Fine.”
Silence slipped between Evelyn and me. I could tell a thousand words formed on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t utter any of them. She just stared, her face stamped with as much worry as the day we’d finally let her into our ground-floor unit.
Five long minutes later, Everest arrived. “What?”
“Show Evelyn,” I asked him.
“Show her what?”
“What we are.”
His eyes widened. “Ness…”
“I can’t keep this a secret from her any longer.”
He turned his face toward Evelyn. Alarm deepened the little lines around her eyes and mouth.
“Please,” I whispered.
“Okay.” He raised his hands. In seconds, his nails lengthened and curled, and then his fingers retracted into his palms.
Evelyn became as pale as her pancake batter. She crossed herself, and then…and then she fainted.
Everest caught her before her head could knock against the tiles. I scrambled off the stepladder and helped him situate her there. I rushed to the sink, wadded up some paper towels, and wet them.
“Why did you have to tell her?” Everest muttered, his voice still a bit groggy.
“Because she would’ve found out. It’s not like our existence is that much of a secret in this part of the world.”
“Just because people suspect we exist, doesn’t mean they all believe it.”
I crouched beside her and moved the damp compress across her forehead. “I needed her to believe it.”
Her eyelids fluttered, and then her mascara-laden eyelashes lifted. She blinked as she came to. And then her black eyes settled on me. An emotion—I couldn’t tell if it was fear or astonishment—flitted through them.
“Please, say something, Evelyn.” I dabbed the wet towel along her neck.
“Breakfast,” she murmured. “I need to make breakfast.” She pressed my hand away, latched onto the island for support, and wobbled onto her feet. Everest hadn’t released her, but she brushed his hands off as though they were spiders.
She picked out a serrated knife and turned toward me. I backed up and fell, my buttocks hitting cold tiles. Was she going to kill me?
“Can you cut the bread, Ness? Make thick slices.”
Working on evening out my thudding pulse, I scrambled back up to my feet and reached out to seize the knife. The serrated blade whispered through the air and gleamed in the bright lighting.
Evelyn returned to her batter and picked up the whisk as though my reveal hadn’t happened, as though Everest’s hands hadn’t morphed into paws.
“If I’m no longer needed, I’m going to go crash a couple more hours.” Everest pivoted toward me. “Unless you want me to stay?”
“No. Go. Thank you.” Before he left, I told him, “Read your messages.”
“I read them.”
I plastered on a weak smile as he passed through the swinging door, and then I walked to the cutting board topped with three loaves of challah.
“Evelyn, are you—” I was about to say angry when she stopped me with a raised palm.
Tears pricked my swollen lids. She didn’t want to talk to me. She was horrified, and how could I blame her?
We worked in silence next to each other. While she tossed thick slabs of bacon in a cast-iron skillet, I soaked the slices of bread I’d cut in egg and milk, prepping them for the griddle Evelyn had already buttered. Not once did we look at each other. I was afraid of what I would see there, and probably, so was she.
While she cooked, I sunk my hands in rubber gloves and soaped up the toppling tower of bowls and cooking paraphernalia. Then I aligned the stainless-steel containers and helped Evelyn arrange the golden triangles of French toast, the fluffy pancakes, the crispy hash browns, the fried sausage, the glistening bacon, and the scrambled eggs.
As I carried the lidded metal containers into the deserted dining room, dawn fanned out over the mountains and raked through the majestic pines, tinting the rock lavender and the bristly leaves blue. Dawn had always been my favorite time of day. Perhaps because it was the quietest, or perhaps because it felt like a piece of blank paper upon which anything could be drawn.
But not today. Today its blankness felt barren and smudged by Evelyn’s silence.
After I slotted all the dishes into their cradles and lit the small candles that would keep them warm until the pack descended upon the dining room, I brewed coffee and tea in the pantry and filled several thermoses with the dark, steaming liquids, going through the motions robotically.
The swinging door flapped.
“Do you know where I could get—” Liam’s gaze collided into mine.
I raised a thermos. “Coffee?”
Slowly, he nodded and extended the ceramic mug clutched between his long fingers.
I filled it for him. “How do you take it?”
“What happened to your face?”
I licked the scab on my lip. “I fell. Do you want milk? Sugar?”
His dark eyebrows pressed together. “Just milk.”
I poured some into his mug. “More?”
He was still looking at my mouth.
“Do you want more milk?”
He shook his head, then tugged a hand through his brown hair, mussing it up. I didn’t remember his mother in great detail—she died when I was five and he was nine—but I remembered she was a beautiful, gentle woman. Instead of looking for Heath in Liam, I looked for her, but the square, chiseled jaw, the brown eyes, the dark eyebrows, those were all Heath.
“Ready for today?” Liam asked as I set the milk down on the large wooden platter.
“For the meeting with the elders or the paintballing?” I lined up the jugs and thermoses, then filled glass pitchers with ice and tap water and placed those on the platter.
“Both.”
I shot him a cocky smile, which sent a jolt of pain through my face. No more smiling for me today. “I was born ready.” I latched on to the horn handles of the tray and heaved it up.
“Want help with that?”
Even though my joints smarted a little, I said, “I don’t need anyone’s help.” I gave him a wide berth so our arms wouldn’t graze, then pressed my shoulder into the swinging door.
The only thing I needed was for Evelyn to keep loving me in spite of the beast I was.
Chapter Eight
I changed out of my work uniform before meeting with the five elders. I slid on skinny jeans and a pair of much-loved, scuffed-up Timberlands that seemed appropriate footwear for paintballing.
Lucas, Matt, and Liam were already in the conference room when I arrived, lounging on the springy office chairs.
“Close the door, Ness,” Bushy-Eyebrows instructed.
Even though the idea of being locked in a room with eight men was unpleasant, I shut the door before making my way to the free seat next to Matt. I felt his gaze rake over my face. Lucas looked too.
The bald elder leaned forward and clasped his hands. “Did someone…hurt you?”
“No.” I didn’t offer details. �
��So what’s on the agenda?”
Chairs squeaked as bodies shifted.
Bushy-Eyebrows took a swig of water from the glass in front of him. “Okay. Let’s get down to business. There will be three tests. The first, endurance. You will have to run twenty miles in wolf form over a terrain set with obstacles and traps. The last person to arrive at the marked destination will lose. And anyone who switches into his or her human form will be automatically disqualified.”
My pulse jackhammered inside my veins. To compete, I would need to change. Fully change. Not the pathetic attempt I’d gone through last night.
Praying the assembled werewolves’ heightened senses wouldn’t pick up on my nervousness, I asked, “When will this take place?”
“The sooner the better. Would next weekend work for everyone?”
That gave me one week to master my wolf form. Not ideal but better than a couple hours. I toyed with Mom’s ring, slotting it around one finger, then slipping it over another.
Everyone nodded.
“We will test your cunning next. The details of that trial will only be given to the three winners of the first contest,” Bushy-Eyebrows said.
I could do cunning. I released Mom’s ring and tucked it back into my tank top where the warmed metal rested against my heart.
“And then we’ll end with a test of strength. A fight between the last two contenders.”
“A fight?” I croaked.
“Did you think this was some sort of beauty pageant, Ness?” Eric asked.
I squashed my aching lips tight to seal off the sharp comeback that threatened to pop out. A fight wasn’t fair, but I supposed the elders knew that. Even though I was strong, how much damage could a hundred-and-twenty-pound girl inflict on a two-hundred-plus-pound monster like Matt? I could hurt him, sure, but beat him…unlikely. But maybe Matt wouldn’t be the one in the ring.
Maybe I wouldn’t be the one in the ring.
Bushy-Eyebrows leaned forward in his seat. “Does anyone have questions?”
The other three shook their heads. I neither shook my head nor nodded. I stayed perfectly still.
“Now let’s talk rules. Eric?” Bushy-Eyebrows nodded to the bald elder.
Eric started, “Non-pack members—”
I bristled. “So these rules only apply to me?”
“Just the first one. If you lose, Ness,” Eric said in a voice that sounded like he’d eaten gravel for breakfast, “you cannot ask the future Alpha to bring you into the pack.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Which means I’ll have to leave Boulder?”
“Yes.”
Even though I’d planned to leave, I wanted it to be my choice. Not theirs. “But if any of the others lose, they get to stay in the pack?”
“Correct.”
Well, that’s fair.
“You will all be civil to each other. We don’t want any fighting outside of these trials,” Eric said.
Bushy-Eyebrows continued, “Internal discord will only weaken the pack. Already not having an Alpha for such a prolonged period of time has hurt us and bolstered the self-worth of neighboring packs. Let’s not give them more ammunition.”
Last night, they’d all been civil to me. This morning, Liam had been borderline kind. Would this go on? The pack had shunned me when I’d needed help after Dad was shot. I had a long memory, and that memory had wedged deep trust issues inside me.
“Okay, Ness?” Eric asked.
I didn’t appreciate being singled out. Again. I shoved my shoulders back hard against the leather seat. “I can be nice.”
“Can you?” Lucas asked.
I shot him a taunting smile. “If I want to be, yes.”
“Well, we do hope you’ll want to be,” Bushy-Eyebrows said. “Any uncivil behavior reported to us will incur serious consequences. Elimination being the gentler consequence.”
His name suddenly slotted into my mind. Frank. Frank McNamara. He used to be the Alpha when my father was my age. Dad had always spoken highly of him. I wondered if Frank would’ve allowed me into the pack had he been Alpha instead of Heath. But I quit wondering fast because what was the point in musing over something that couldn’t happen?
“I believe you kids have something fun planned, so we’ll adjourn this meeting.”
Yeah, fun. Not.
“Next Saturday, come to the pack headquarters at noon. Don’t be late.” The elders rose.
As Frank passed behind my chair, he placed a palm on my shoulder. “Jeb told me about your mother this morning.”
Great. Lucy was giving out my room number to strangers, and Jeb was informing people of my loss. So much for respecting my privacy. Sadly, my aunt and uncle were meeting my expectations…my very low expectations.
“Maggie was a good woman,” Frank added.
My throat felt like someone had gone at it with a fist.
Frank squeezed my shoulder once then went on his way.
“What’d she die of?” Matt asked as I got up.
I pushed a lock of hair behind my ear. Even though I didn’t want to discuss my mother with anyone, I also didn’t want them to get their information from other places. “Ovarian cancer.”
“Is that why you’re so bitter?” Lucas asked.
Matt and Liam both shot him a look.
Lucas raised his palms in the air. “I was just wondering if she was biting off our heads because she couldn’t stand the look of them, or if her behavior was out of the ordinary. Am I not allowed to ask?”
“Damn. And here I thought I’d been coming across as charming.” I smiled. “I should probably work on my social skills.” My phone vibrated in my back pocket. I fished it out, but when I saw the number on the screen, I rejected the call and shoved it back inside my pocket. “So, paintball?” I asked, my heart loping around my chest.
If only I could’ve quieted it with a press of a button, too.
A small bus was waiting outside the inn, already crammed with animated pack members. Sucking in a breath, I climbed on, Everest close behind. I slid into the first row so I didn’t have to ford through the entire bus. Everest dropped down next to me.
I caught sight of August across the aisle. He seemed intent on deciphering the slogan in bold block letters on the driver’s cap.
Everest bent toward me and dropped his voice to a low whisper, “He broke up with Sienna last night.”
That explained the surly curve of August’s mouth.
“How long were they dating?” I murmured back.
“A couple months. Wouldn’t know why he ended things, would you?”
“Me?” I frowned. “Why would I know anything?”
Everest gave me a come-on look.
“I didn’t even know her…”
He narrowed his eyes so much they looked about to collide against the bridge of his nose.
“What?”
“Dimples?” he whispered.
“You think it’s because of me?”
Everest shrugged. “Maybe they were having trouble before he called you his favorite girl.”
I jabbed my elbow into his ribs because he’d said that way too loudly. So loudly that August glanced my way. I highly doubted he’d broken up with his girlfriend over me. Everest was giving me way more importance than I had.
The bus door closed after Liam, Lucas, and Matt walked on. Matt slid in next to August, while Liam and Lucas sat behind me. I sank a little lower in my seat. I heard Matt ask August how he was holding up.
August grunted. “Fine.”
“How was the meeting?” Everest asked.
As the bus pulled out of the inn’s driveway and rolled west, I told him about the first trial and the rule—the one that only applied to me. And then I told him about the last trial. And his eyes went as wide as his mouth.
“You can’t win a physical fight,” he whispered.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” He was probably right, though.
Lucas leaned forward, his greasy black hair flopping in my pe
ripheral vision. I half expected him to mention the trials. He didn’t. “I was remembering the last time I saw you in your wolf form. You were this scrawny ball of white fur.”
The bus went over a pothole, and my breasts jiggled. I folded my arms to block them in place. “You sure you didn’t mistake me for a kitten?”
He smirked. “I know the difference between a cat and a wolf. Both have claws, but only one bites.”
My phone vibrated in my lap. I could tell Everest had recognized the number from the stiffening of his body. I flipped the phone over.
“Who you avoiding? An ex?” Lucas inquired.
“Exactly.”
“Got many exes back in… Where was it you lived again?”
Matt filled in for him, “Los Angeles.”
“Got many exes back in L.A.?” Lucas asked.
“Maybe.”
“You know, Ness, the elders didn’t state this rule, probably ’cause there hasn’t been any girls in the pack for over a century, but there’s no dating among the pack. We don’t shit where we eat, if you get the gist.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “In what screwed up world do you think I’d be interested in dating any of you?”
He tipped his long chin toward Everest. “You and your cousin look awfully chummy.”
Shock rushed through me that he would think I would screw my own cousin.
Everest spun and smashed his fist into Lucas’s simpering grin, which had Lucas shooting to his feet.
Liam grabbed a fistful of his friend’s t-shirt and yanked him back into his seat. “Enough!” His eyes gleamed dangerously. He probably didn’t want his little friend to be kicked out of the running for Alpha for being uncivil.
“You punch like a girl, Everest,” Lucas muttered under his breath.
“Stop being a dick, Lucas.” August’s retort rumbled like thunder.
The bus had gone extremely quiet, so quiet I could hear Everest’s leaden breaths. I wound my fingers around his wrist, but he ripped his hand away, then sulked the rest of the trip to the paintball arena.
Lucas didn’t try talking to us again, but he did talk. To Liam. Told him about the explosive orgasm he’d given Taryn that morning, which had me wrinkling my nose. And then he asked Liam if they were still on for tonight, ’cause Tamara was extremely eager to see Liam.
A Pack of Blood and Lies Page 5
